More Medical Frustration
Okay... Trying not to freak out... But I just got a call from my doctor to let me know that the fetal assessment clinic is totally booked up until November 17 - so no assessment for Briony and I, because she'll be born by then. Of course, I asked about a cancellation list and about the possibility of getting checked at a different hospital, but neither idea is an option.It feels a little scary to be missing out on this routine check for overdue babies, and to just trust that everything's okay in there. This whole pregnancy has been an exercise in trust - something that does *not* come naturally for me. It's not really comforting to be told to just call or head for the hospital if anything changes or seems off, because I don't want to take chances with my baby.
Hopefully, she'll be born by next week, which would make my current meltdown irrelevant...
Labels: Baby Talk
posted by Lindsay @ 2:08 PM
7 Comments:
Don't worry...out in the country we don't have fetal assessments for overdue babies. Trinity came out just fine with no assessment. I remember those days past the due date though...soooooo hard. I saw your facebook status. I completely get not wanting strangers (or friends and family)to discuss my state of being overdue. I hibernated until Trinity was born. I will be thinking of you. I could tell you to enjoy your quiet time or just relax but I know that is not going to happen...that's what everyone told me to do (and drink caster oil...ewe) and I'm sure you can imagine what I wanted to tell them to do. :) Here's hoping for contractions and labour pains!
No fetal assessment for my overdue baby and she was just fine. Hope things start moving soon.
We're total hippies (homebirths, midwives, etc), and I know that not everyone shares our views on these things...but in our experience (and the experiences of everyone we know), due dates are total bullshit. They're always wrong, and almost always set arbitrarily too early.
That in and of itself shouldn't matter much, except that it creates so much strain and false expectations for women who are already uncomfortable and often afraid of what's coming. And unfortunately, the medical establishment seems use the "overdue" card to justify all the unnecessary interventions, pressuring women to speed things along. Then suddenly a normal birth has become a medical procedure, requiring more invasive testing and manipulation. Sad that the odds of c-sections go way up at that point. I so hope that your path doesn't look anything like that.
Sorry, all of this to say, "try not to worry about your due date". If you can delude yourself into forgetting about the due date and just going with the flow, I suspect your overall experience will be much happier.
Thanks, friends. I'm feeling much calmer now that I've had some time to process. I think it's just nerve-wracking to have someone tell you to call if something seems wrong, because I've never done this before and I don't know what 'wrong' or 'right' might feel like. Maybe more than anything, I need to trust myself.
I chose my doctor because of her reputation for low intervention births, and her stats on inductions, c-sections, forceps deliveries, and all that fun stuff is *substantially* lower than average. And I'm still comfortable with letting Briony do her thing, at least until we have reason to believe that it's not healthy for her in there anymore. I guess I was just taking for granted that I'd be getting some reassurance next week that she was doing okay.
i also didn't have a fetal assessment and Ben went overdue... but Ii totally understand your frustration with knowing if something is wrong, i felt the same way when people said that to me "if i've never done this before, and there is pain involved naturally, how the heck am i supposed to know if something is wrong!" grrr, i wish they wouldn't say that.... keep bouncing on that ball, i sure did and i don't know if it helped labour progress but it felt comfortable for me, felt like i was doing something proactive and funny thing after ben was born it was one of the only ways to calm him sometimes (to bounce)... don't know if it was related, but i like to think it was. here's to a good night sleep for you and babe :)
Fetal assessment is a technological tool that is probably as accurate as you noting how active Briony is. Millions of women deliver healthy babies without any technology at all. Your friends are correct...you and Briony can live without it. I love the bouncing ball concept:)
It may just be my personality, but in my last days (weeks) of pregnancy I found it easier on my brain to keep doing stuff, rather than hunkering down and analyzing each contraction - or lack of. To fit in one more movie/coffee date with a good friend, lunch with your work crew or dinner out with the boy while it's still simple is a gift. It also leaves less time to obsess about too much info ;)
Post a Comment
<< Home